Emir of Mecca and King of the Arabs, he was the last of the Hashemite Sharifians
that ruled over Mecca, Medina and the Hijaz in unbroken succession from 1201 to 1925. Sharif Hussein
is best known for launching the Great Arab Revolt in June 1916 against the Ottoman army.
During the First World War, the Turkish dominated Ottoman Empire sided with the Central
Powers against the Allies, allowing the Emir of Mecca to seize the opportunity to liberate
the Arab lands from Turkish rule by allying himself with the British and the French. His
objective in undertaking the Great Arab Revolt was to establish a single independent and
unified Arab state stretching from Aleppo (Syria) to Aden (Yemen), based on the ancient
traditions and culture of the Arab people, the upholding of Islamic ideals and the full
protection and inclusion of ethnic religious minorities.

Arab nationalists found in the Hashemite
commanders of the Great Arab Revolt the leadership that could realize their aspirations,
and thus coalesced around them. Sharif Husseins sons Emir Ali, Emir Abdullah (King
Husseins grandfather), Emir Faisal and Emir Zeids forces led the Arab Army
against the Turks. While the colonial powers of Britain and France denied the Arabs their
promised single unified Arab state, it is nevertheless testimony to the effectiveness of
the Great Arab Revolt that the Hashemite family secured Arab rule over all of modern
Jordan, most of the Arabian peninsula and Syria.